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Going on short-term experiences in global health (STEGHs) is now a common occurrence among students and trainees in the health professions. STEGHs, also known as short-term international service learning trips, are characterized by individuals or groups from high-income countries traveling to lowand middle-income countries for periods ranging from weeks to months to participate in service, educational activities, or research activities. When seasoned clinicians, educators, and investigators temporarily go abroad to practice, teach, and conduct studies, respectively, they too are participating in STEGHs—one is never too old or too experienced to avoid growing, hopefully with the development of wisdom in mind—while involved in professional activities in foreign settings. Much of the literature around STEGHs increasingly focuses on ensuring benefits for host communities. Simultaneously, however, many scholars are questioning whether such benefits are realistically achievable through participation in STEGHs. This juxtaposition exposes obvious concerns regarding the value of STEGHs for all involved and highlights the obligation of participants from high-income countries to examine their ethical, interpersonal, and practice responsibilities in relation to their majority-world hosts. Without such examination, participants in STEGHs may be at risk for exploiting the very people living in the communities they intend to help. I have had the fortune to participate in several shortand long-term international trips over the course of my career as a practicing physician and educator in family medicine and public health. These experiences have cemented in my mind the vital need for all health professionals to develop such characteristics as cultural reflexivity, cultural humility, shared presence, social responsibility, and self-awareness. STEGHs can offer wonderful opportunities for participants to cultivate these attitudes and attributes, but only if they are willing to explore them in addition to acquiring the technical skills needed to work in resource-poor settings. Predeparture training supplemented by postreturn evaluation can be helpful in encouraging this kind of exploration. However, I believe these activities must be supplemented with ongoing reflection before beginning, during, and on the completion of any STEGH. My purpose here is to suggest 3 questions that reinforce the practice of such reflection, so as to help breed and sustain the kind of broad inquisitive quality of character that is crucial for living, working, and learning in any foreign context—or, for that matter, in any context at all.

Intentional Exploration on International Service Learning Trips: Three Questions for Global Health